


UFO: The Crossover Dilemma

by m_k



Category: Raumpatrouille, UFO | Gerry Anderson's UFO
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27688931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_k/pseuds/m_k
Summary: In the year 2000, as a result of a catastrophic alien attack on both Moonbases involving time manipulation, Ed Straker and Virginia Lake are propelled hundreds of years forward into a grim future. Lydia van Dyke, captain of the starship Hydra, tries to convince them that there is a place for them in this strange new world. But Straker can't let go of the past, especially when he discovers that they are repairing the aliens' time travel ship.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	UFO: The Crossover Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

> A crossover between _Gerry Anderson's UFO_ and the German science fiction show _Raumpatroille_.

_EXTERIOR. A PANORAMIC STARFIELD._

_A panorama of countless stars, like dust, but fluidic and dreamlike. As the camera pans down a dozen approaching UFO discs come into view, arrayed at various distances. They fire bolts of energy which stream past._

_WIDE SHOT: The energy bolts impact the Moonbase, seen from a distance, lit from a low angle by the sun. Some UFOs are strafing, others hovering above the base, raining down weapons fire._

_MEDIUM SHOT: Modules of the base begin to fail and decompress. Others explode. This action is curiously slow and dreamlike._

_We hear General Ed Straker’s voice and the Moonbase Commander’s voice, both distorted by static, laid over other frantic radio communications._

STRAKER ( _Voiceover, strident_ ) This is General Straker. Report. Report!

MOONBASE COMMANDER ( _Voiceover; shaken)_ This is Commander Choi. Moonbase One…has been destroyed. Moonbase Two is under attack. They came out of nowhere!

STRAKER ( _Voiceover, fatalistic_ ) …It’s happening.

_CUT TO:_

_INTERIOR. ED STRAKER’S BEDROOM—NIGHT._

_Straker vocalizes in panic as he sits up in bed. He looks around briefly and turns on the bedside lamp. Swinging his legs down and sitting on the side of the bed, he rubs his face with his hands, then sits thinking. He is now 55 years old, and his face betrays the burden of over twenty years of command of SHADO (Supreme Headquarters, Alien Defense Organization). His sharp blue eyes are filled with concern and calculation._

_FADE TO:_

_EXTERIOR. SHADO HEADQUARTERS BUILDING—DAY._

_The futuristic SHADO Headquarters building, several stories tall._

_TITLE OVER:_

_SHADO HEADQUARTERS_

_YEAR: 2000_

_INTERIOR. SHADO HEADQUARTERS BUILDING—DAY._

_An elevator opens and Straker strides into a brightly lit outer office. He is wearing a sharply-tailored Nehru-style suit. Upbeat, he greets the several workers at their desks, who wear vaguely militaristic outfits. They smile and acknowledge him._

STRAKER _(Brightly)_ Good morning everyone! ( _To his staff officer_ ) Oh, I’m expecting General Lake to drop by this morning. Just send her in when she shows up, would you?

_The staff officer smiles and nods._

_INTERIOR. STRAKER’S OFFICE—DAY._

_The door slides open and Straker enters his office, which is expansive and bright thanks to large windows admitting daylight. He turns to face a large view screen built into the wall._

STRAKER _(To the view screen)_ This is General Straker to Moonbase Commander Choi.

_Commander Choi appears on the screen. His short hair has a dusting of purple color—a call out to the purple wigs that were fashionable twenty years ago. He wears a futuristic outfit made of ridged, graphite-colored material. A control panel with displays and lit indicators can be seen behind him._

COMMANDER CHOI ( _Calmly_ ) Good morning, General.

STRAKER ( _Businesslike_ ) I’d like a report on the preparations for the treaty conference.

COMMANDER CHOI Proceeding to plan, General. 

STRAKER What about the deep space scans?

COMMANDER CHOI Scans are all clear, General. We don’t expect the alien delegation to arrive until five o’clock UT, which is three hours after you are due to arrive at Moonbase One.

STRAKER ( _Nods grimly_ ) I see.

COMMANDER CHOI Do you have any particular concerns, General?

STRAKER I wish I did. It would make me feel better.

COMMANDER CHOI Sir?

STRAKER ( _Smiles_ ) Thank you for your hard work, Commander Choi.

COMMANDER CHOI Yes, sir. Have a pleasant flight to the moon, General.

_Straker ends the transmission with the press of a button. He sighs thoughtfully and then rubs his face with his hand. We hear the office door slide open._

_General Virginia Lake is standing in the doorway, dressed in a vaguely militaristic outfit, with a large bag in her hand._

STRAKER General Lake.

LAKE General Straker.

_She enters and the door slides shut behind her. She then proceeds to the large windows, where two small couches face each other on either side of a coffee table. Straker is curious what Lake has brought in the bag._

_Retrieving the contents from the bag, Lake sets two glasses on the table, then opens what looks like a wine bottle and begins to fill the glasses._

LAKE Sparkling grape juice, for my non-alcoholic friend. I thought some congratulations were in order.

STRAKER ( _Mischievous_ ) Well, I appreciate the thought, but I haven’t touched the stuff in decades!

LAKE ( _Laughs_ ) I mean for the peace treaty!

_They each take a glass and toast._

LAKE ( _Appreciatively_ ) You did it.

STRAKER ( _Chuckling_ ) Well, I’d wait until after the peace treaty with the aliens is signed before congratulating me. In fact, even then, I’d wait a little longer.

LAKE Always the pessimist.

STRAKER ( _Still smiling_ ) Well, I prefer “realist.”

_Lake continues to examine him; he appears to be struggling to tell her something._

STRAKER ( _Serious_ ) Ginny, the reason I asked you to come here…

_He thinks for a second._

STRAKER ( _To the computer on his desk_ ) Secure the room.

_A few servos are heard and the windows behind the two darken._

STRAKER I…I have a favor to ask of you.

LAKE ( _Amused by his reticence_ ) Anything, Ed. ( _beat_ ) What is it?

STRAKER ( _Staring off to the side, changing the subject_ ) Do you remember the old offices, at Harrington-Straker?

LAKE ( _Nodding_ ) All that concrete.

STRAKER ( _Trying to build his case_ ) We’ve known each other for a long time. And we’ve been through a lot together. Everything the aliens thew at us…and still we made it through to the other side. ( _beat_ ) Virginia, I trust you implicitly.

LAKE And I trust you implicitly, Ed.

STRAKER ( _Wistfully_ ) If all this works out, I plan to bow out and recommend you as my successor.

LAKE (Nods) Well, if all this works out, there will still be a lot of work for SHADO and its commander. We’ll have to assist in receiving and processing the alien refugees. We’ll have to ratchet back the Moonbase operations.

STRAKER I see that you’ve already put some thought into it!

LAKE Well…in a few hours you’ll be on your way to the moon, and soon after that, the whole nature of SHADO’s mission will change.

STRAKER ( _Hesitantly_ ) Ginny, I need you on that moon shuttle with me.

LAKE ( _Shocked_ ) Why?

STRAKER I can’t do it alone. I need your help on this one.

LAKE ( _Probingly_ ) Ed, what’s going on?

STRAKER I’ve had medical check me out. They say it’s stress, but I don’t know. I’ve been having these dreams. The Moonbases are attacked. We…are taken by surprise. We…lose the war. I’ve seen it over and over.

LAKE Ed, those things *did* happen over and over for twenty years. Twenty years of mind games and assault by the aliens. And now that those things have come to a stop, you’re having to process them, to deal with the trauma. You’re not going to get over it in a day or a week or a month. ( _beat_ ) You need a good therapist.

STRAKER ( _Cynically_ ) That’s everyone’s solution for everything. Go see a therapist. I should have sent the aliens that message twenty years ago. “Go see a therapist.” ( _beat_ ) I realize I’m being paranoid. I’ve always been paranoid.

LAKE ( _Joking_ ) Your paranoia is your best quality!

_Straker looks at her sharply, not laughing._

LAKE ( _More serious_ ) I have to run home and pack a bag. I’ll meet you at the spaceport this afternoon.

STRAKER ( _Nodding_ ) I owe you one.

_EXTERIOR. SPACE, NEAR THE MOON._

_The moon shuttle, in flight in space, approaches the camera. The shuttle is reminiscent of the old style moon shuttles, still painted bright red, but cleaner and more sleek._

_Reverse angle: The moon shuttle streaks toward the large crescent of the moon, which fills the screen._

_INTERIOR. THE MOON SHUTTLE PASSENGER CABIN._

_The several rows of double seats are empty, except for one, where Lake and Straker sit side by side, Straker closest the window. The approaching sphere of the moon fills the window._

_The camera very slowly closes in on the two friends. Lake is speaking of old friends. Straker occasionally looks at her, half listening._

LAKE I spoke to Nina last week. She’s still living in Barbados. And she has four grandkids. I don’t blame her for retiring. Her house looks amazing. It’s by the beach, Ed. Can you imagine living by the beach, waking up to that each day?

_Closer still, we see Straker’s distracted, worried face, the moon’s crescent behind him framed by the window. Then the spell is broken._

LAKE ( _Shocked_ ) Ed! Look!

_Lake indicates the window. On the moon, a fiery explosion can be seen, roiling outward, with debris expanding above it_

_Straker and Lake unbuckle and start to leave their seats._

_INTERIOR. THE MOON SHUTTLE’S COCKPIT._

_The cockpit door slides open and Straker and Lake pull themselves in, floating in zero-g. A pilot and a copilot frantically check displays and operate controls._

SHUTTLE PILOT ( _To Straker_ ) Something’s happening at the Moonbases, General.

_[Note: the following dialog is the same audio as that heard over Straker’s premonition of the attack in the first scene.]_

STRAKER I know! ( _Presses several comms controls_ ) This is General Straker. Report. Report!

MOONBASE COMMANDER ( _Voiceover; shaken)_ This is Commander Choi. Moonbase One…has been destroyed. Moonbase Two is under attack. They came out of nowhere!

STRAKER ( _Fatalistic, to Lake_ ) …It’s happening.

LAKE ( _Eyes wide_ ) Your dream? ( _Comprehending_ ) Your premonition.

STRAKER ( _To Moonbase Commander_ ) Did you launch interceptors?

MOONBASE COMMANDER ( _Voiceover, through increasing static_ ) We had two in the air. They’ve been destroyed. Launch platforms incapacitated.

STRAKER ( _To Moonbase Commander_ ) Do the best you can with ground defenses. Commander Choi? Choi?

 _There is no longer a response._ _Straker turns his attention to the copilot and indicates a constellation through the cockpit window, separate from the moon._

STRAKER ( _Pointing_ ) There! Direct your long range radar there!

_The copilot programs the radar._

LAKE ( _Mystified_ ) This is more than a premonition, isn’t it?

STRAKER ( _To Lake_ ) Yes, it’s like a…reverse memory…but it played out several different ways. I never made it to the end. That’s why I asked you to come along.

COPILOT ( _Reporting to Straker_ ) I have one bogie, a single UFO, holding position. [Note: UFO is pronounced “Yoo-foe,” as in the series.]

STRAKER ( _Authoritatively_ ) Then that’s our target. ( _To pilot_ ) Make best speed toward that UFO!

PILOT Sir, just to remind you…we have no weapons.

STRAKER Wrong! We have a weapon. This shuttle.

_EXTERIOR. SPACE._

_The shuttle’s main engine flares up and we see reaction control thrusters fire to steer the shuttle toward the UFO._

_INTERIOR. THE MOON SHUTTLE’S COCKPIT._

_Straker and Lake are still floating in zero-g, but being buffeted as the shuttle turns and accelerates. They tightly hold onto handles etc. We hear the roar of the engine in the cockpit._

LAKE ( _Confused_ ) Shouldn’t we try to help the Moonbase?

STRAKER ( _To Lake_ ) Remember what Choi said? “They came out of nowhere.” ( _Points toward the constellation, now straight ahead_ ) That UFO is the key, why this is all happening. Remember? They tried this before!

LAKE ( _Thinking_ ) The time distortion device? But that was twenty years ago.

STRAKER If we’ve learned anything about the aliens, it’s that they play the long game.

COPILOT Coming up on the UFO. It’s not backing off.

STRAKER Because it can’t, not without disturbing the temporal distortion field that allowed the UFOs to appear undetected.

PILOT ( _Shouting_ ) Another UFO is coming around. It’s going to ram us!

_Through the forward curved window the spinning, metallic shape of a UFO appears and fills the screen. Impact: the shuttle cockpit is devastated; controls flicker and sparks fly. The window glass is cracked but holds. Smoke is filling the air. Different alarms are beeping and blaring. Stars are wheeling beyond the window; occasionally the stationary UFO enters and leaves the field of vision._

_Lake is confused, trying to orient herself. She finds the pilot and copilot both unconscious or dead. She catches a floating Straker, who is only semiconscious, barely able to open his eyes._

STRAKER ( _Whispering_ ) You’ve…got a job to do.

_Straker passes out. She pushes him away, unbuckles the pilot and pushes him away as well, then buckles herself in and, pressing various controls to stabilize the spinning shuttle. The UFO is visible through the cracked clear screen. She is smudged and bleeding, having a difficult time accepting that this is the end. She glances at the unconscious Straker._

LAKE ( _To Straker_ ) You bastard. Now you owe me one.

_EXTERIOR. SPACE._

_The main engine of the shuttle comes to life and the shuttle begins to race toward the UFO. The UFO begins to back away, but not fast enough. The shuttle rams it, and after a fiery collision, the two objects spin and drift away from each other._

_FADE TO:_

_INTERIOR. THE MOON SHUTTLE’S COCKPIT._

_The instruments are dark. The forward window framed with frost. Outside, stars spin by rapidly._

_Lit by starlight, Lake tries to awaken the floating Straker, who is smeared and matted with blood._

LAKE ( _Concerned_ ) You’re bleeding. So much blood.

STRAKER ( _Sluggishly_ ) Head wounds always bleed a lot, whether they’re serious or not. ( _Seized with pain_ ) Although this might be serious. What happened?

LAKE I rammed the UFO. It wasn’t destroyed but I’m certain it was damaged.

_A loud metallic creaking is heard, and the stars in the forward window stop spinning. All is still._

STRAKER ( _Looking up_ ) Someone has stabilized the shuttle.

LAKE ( _Concerned_ ) What does it mean?

_Straker pulls himself toward the forward window and peers out._

STRAKER ( _Disturbed and crushed by what he sees_ ) No!

_Lake pulls herself forward to see what he is looking at. She stares in disbelief._

STRAKER ( _Devastated_ ) It means we failed. It means we lost the war.

_EXTERIOR. SPACE._

_The red moon shuttle, scarred and damaged, appears tiny next to a giant disc-like spaceship recognizable as a “Fast Scout Ship” from_ Raumpatroille _. The shuttle, cast into shadow beneath the massive starship, disappears._

_FADE TO:_

_INTERIOR. A HOSPITAL WARD._

_Straker’s blue eyes flutter open and try to focus in the bright light. As the camera pulls out, we see that he is lying in a bed, in a hospital gown. Beside him is an impressive display panel, with bio indicators, but all the script is blocky and foreign, unrecognizable. [Note: this is the script we have commonly seen on computer displays in_ Raumpatroille _.]_

DOCTOR KIM _(Voiceover)_ He’s awake now.

_The camera continues to pull back and we see Doctor Kim, in a medical garment, and General Lydia van Dyke, in her official uniform, standing on the far side of the bed._

VAN DYKE ( _Smiles at Straker_ ) Hello.

_Straker, looking pale and languid, turns his head to look at her, then peers around to take in the expansive hospital room._

STRAKER ( _Weakly_ ) Where am I?

VAN DYKE ( _Reassuringly_ ) On Earth.

STRAKER ( _Blinks, remembers_ ) In space, we saw a massive UFO. It must have been…50 or 60 meters in diameter.

VAN DYKE ( _Not comprehending_ ) “Yoo-foe?”

STRAKER ( _Frustrated_ ) UFO…alien attack saucer.

VAN DYKE ( _Understanding_ ) You mean my ship, the Hydra. 

STRAKER ( _Astounded_ ) Your ship?

VAN DYKE Yes, we picked up your spaceplane near the moon. The Hydra is a Fast Space Cruiser, part of Earth’s fleet of interstellar patrol vessels.

STRAKER ( _Amazed_ ) Interstellar? ( _Jokingly_ ) How long was I asleep?

VAN DYKE ( _Not getting the joke_ ) Several days. You were in a medically induced coma, due to your head injury.

_Straker sits up in bed, a bit uncomfortably._

STRAKER ( _Hesitantly_ ) This…this is the future.

_Van Dyke nods._

STRAKER ( _Thinking_ ) The UFO must have dragged us forward in time when the field collapsed. ( _To van Dyke_ ) Did anyone else survive? From my…spaceplane?

VAN DYKE Your friend Virginia Lake also survived. ( _To Dr. Kim_ ) Will you bring her in, please?

_Dr. Kim nods and leaves the frame._

( _To Straker_ ) We’ve been debriefing your friend these past few days.

_Dr. Kim returns with Lake, who is dressed in a mildly futuristic civilian outfit. She gazes concernedly at Straker, who tries to sit up in bed a little bit more._

STRAKER ( _Formally_ ) General Lake.

LAKE General Straker.

VAN DYKE ( _Smiling_ ) So formal! Tonight, ( _To Straker_ ) assuming you are up to it, ( _To Lake and Straker_ ) I’m taking you both out for dinner. It’s not every day that visitors drop in from the past. You two are precious to us. There is so much about your time period that we don’t know.

STRAKER Why is that?

VAN DYKE The discontinuity? Ecological disaster. Technological failure. When survival is paramount, history takes a back seat. ( _Smiles weakly_ ) We’ll let you two catch up.

_Van Dyke glances at Dr. Kim, and the two of them depart. Lake watches them leave suspiciously, then sits on the bed next to Straker. They look at each other for a second._

STRAKER Virginia, what year *is* it?

LAKE ( _Sotto voce_ ) I can’t get a straight answer out of anyone. I don’t think they bloody know!

STRAKER ( _Thinking_ ) We can determine it for ourselves using star positions.

LAKE That might be difficult….

_Straker looks at her questioningly._

_FADE TO:_

_INTERIOR. THE STARLIGHT CASINO._

_The “Casino” is a community gathering place, wide open, with tables, a bar, and an overarching domed structure that reveals the city is actually deep under water. Large, unfamiliar fish swim above the arched plexiglass, shimmering in the dimly penetrating sunlight. Straker is now dressed in a utilitarian outfit. He, Lake, and van Dyke are dining at a table beneath the enormous clear arch. Van Dyke is gesturing upward, explaining._

VAN DYKE We live under the ocean because there simply isn’t much land left. In addition, the air cannot be breathed. The concentration of carbon dioxide is poisonous. While, down here, there is life.

LAKE And yet you travel all over the galaxy. That spaceport was very impressive.

_A group of small children run past, laughing. Everyone smiles at their playfulness._

STRAKER What you’ve built here is incredible. But I don’t see how there is a place for me and Virginia.

VAN DYKE I told you, you’re precious to us, you’re living history.

STRAKER ( _Smiling uncomfortably_ ) I…may be *from* history, but I’m not really cut out to be a historian.

VAN DYKE There’s a place for you here.

STRAKER But I—

_Van Dyke grabs Straker’s hand in hers and repeats what she just said more earnestly and passionately._

VAN DYKE There is a place for you here.

_Caught off guard, Straker is momentarily at a loss for words. Then he notices, across the casino, a blue-skinned alien, one of the invaders from his time period. The alien is wearing a hospital gown, and is walking feebly between two medical workers who are assisting._

_Straker jumps to his feet, his chair falling backwards._

STRAKER ( _Pointing and shouting_ ) Alien!

_The alien stops and stares from across the large room. Lake also stands, looking dismayed._

VAN DYKE ( _Perplexed_ ) Ed, take it easy. He was recovered from his ship just as you were from yours.

STRAKER ( _Grimaces, holding his head_ ) They are enemies of the Earth. They’re killers! You have to lock him up!

_Straker tries to take a step and stumbles, still not fully recovered. Van Dyke catches him and restrains him._

VAN DYKE Ed! You have a lot to learn about the future!

_All three notice that the alien has shambled in their direction, and is approaching Straker. Straker struggles to free himself from van Dykes bearhug._

STRAKER Let me—

VAN DYKE Do what?

_The alien stares wide-eyed at Straker. He gradually raises his arm and holds out his hand, palm up._

STRAKER ( _Distraught_ ) What is he doing?

LAKE I think…he’s offering you his hand in friendship.

STRAKER No! No!

_Straker struggles free, tries to run away, but stumbles and catches an empty chair, supporting himself above it._

STRAKER ( _Crying_ ) You don’t understand. I’ve fought those things my whole life. They’ve tried to destroy me again and again. I lost my wife because of them. I lost my son.

_Lake kneels beside him, placing an arm around his shoulders._

LAKE ( _Sympathetically_ ) Ed, I think that war may be over.

STRAKER ( _Emotionally_ ) Not for me. Not for me.

VAN DYKE ( _Hesitatingly, helps Straker to his feet_ ) Let’s get you back to the hospital.

_FADE TO:_

_INTERIOR. A HOSPITAL WARD._

_Straker is sitting on the side of his hospital bed. The doctor is getting an injection ready for him._

STRAKER ( _Curious_ ) What’s your name?

DR. KIM Dr. Kim, but you know that.

STRAKER I mean, your *name.*

_Dr. Kim gives Straker the injection._

DR. KIM Kim Bok-hyun.

STRAKER Hmm, Kim Bok-hyun. If you don’t mind my saying so, you don’t look Korean.

DR KIM ( _Evenly_ ) You should learn right now that in this time period, that is a ridiculous and insulting thing to say.

STRAKER ( _Not deterred_ ) Explain it to me.

DR KIM Very well. There are no nations, or nationalities. Not anymore. We adopt our nationalities, as well as our names, in order to preserve them. Our cultures are not connected to genetics in any way. And we feel it’s better this way.

STRAKER ( _Nods_ ) I kept expecting racism to burn itself out during my time period, but it never did. To be honest, it always seemed a bit hypocritical to be fighting aliens when we humans couldn’t learn to live together.

DR KIM For us, the struggle just to survive took precedence.

STRAKER ( _Annoyed_ ) What are these shots I keep getting, anyway?

DR KIM To allow you to survive in our atmosphere. It is slightly toxic to you.

STRAKER Why isn’t it toxic to *you?*

DR KIM We evolved.

STRAKER Don’t be ridiculous. Evolution happens over epochs, not centuries.

DR KIM Not when a species is under great duress. Then, evolution can occur in one generation. ( _Coldly_ ) Have a pleasant day.

_Dr. Kim leaves, and Straker nods, realizing he did not handle that conversation as tactfully as he could have._

_INTERIOR. THE STARLIGHT CASINO._

_Lake is sitting at a small table, off to the side. There are only a few other patrons, standing and talking far away. Straker approaches and pulls out a chair. He is moving confidently._

LAKE You’re moving a lot better.

STRAKER ( _Nodding_ ) Ginny…this place is kind of driving me nuts.

_Straker looks at someone behind Lake and salutes. Lake turns to see a man in grey clothes walking toward them, who then swivels and start to walk away from them._

LAKE Who was that?

STRAKER They’ve assigned me a security man who spends the day pretending not to follow me. I guess they don’t trust me.

LAKE ( _Smiling_ ) General Lydia van Dyke trusts you.

STRAKER ( _Sighing loudly_ ) Well, I have to admit we have a certain…chemistry.

LAKE Well, no one is following me. And, Ed, I’ve been doing a lot of digging.

STRAKER Go on.

_Lake glances around, and lowers her voice a bit._

LAKE The vast majority of species on Earth have gone extinct. The fish up there…were imported from other worlds.

STRAKER ( _Nodding_ ) Because the land isn’t habitable and the atmosphere is poisonous.

LAKE This city is called Base 104, and is located in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. But there are only a dozen such bases, each with a total population of around ten thousand people. 

STRAKER ( _Unbelievingly_ ) That would mean there is only one hundred and twenty thousand people on the entire planet.

LAKE Yes, and not that many more in space. Ed, this population is infertile. This civilization is failing. Humanity is on the verge of extinction.

STRAKER ( _Troubled_ ) So many things don’t add up. Ginny, I’ve been doing some of my own snooping around. Lydia gave me a tour of the Hydra, which is in for repairs. The technology is based on UFO tech. I’m certain of it.

LAKE ( _Frowning_ ) What does it all mean?

STRAKER Lydia…secured me an apartment. I’m seeing her tonight. I’m…going to put my cards on the table. See what happens.

_Lake nods in agreement._

_FADE TO:_

_INTERIOR. STRAKER’S APARTMENT._

_Straker’s new apartment is bright, but tiny and bare, with absolutely no personality whatsoever. He sits up in bed, reading a book._

_The doorbell chimes. He continues reading. The doorbell chimes again._

STRAKER Enter.

_Lydia van Dyke enters. She is no longer dressed in her trim, dark military outfit, but is wearing a very pale yellow dress. Like seemingly everything else in the future, the colors are muted. She is hiding something behind her back._

VAN DYKE ( _Warmly_ ) Hello, Ed.

STRAKER ( _Still reading_ ) Lydia.

_She presents the item she had been hiding—a box with a bow._

VAN DYKE I brought you some sweets.

STRAKER What kind?

VAN DYKE Seaweed.

STRAKER ( _beat_ ) Well, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.

VAN DYKE ( _Disappointed_ ) Oh. ( _Positively_ ) I learn something new about you every day. What are you doing?

STRAKER ( _Closes book_ ) Well, I made friends with that security guard you assigned to look after me. He retrieved this book from the damaged moon shuttle. Since I can’t read that foreign alphabet you use, this is the only thing I have to read.

VAN DYKE Oh.

_Van Dyke sits at Straker’s small desk table and unwraps the box of sweets. She starts to eat them._

STRAKER Lydia?

VAN DYKE ( _Mouth full of sweets_ ) Yes, Ed?

STRAKER What happens if I stop taking the injections that Dr. Kim gives me?

VAN DYKE Oh, Ed, don’t do that. You need those to breathe our air.

STRAKER Lydia…the alien alphabet, the alien air, the alien technology your starship runs on. Your…sympathy…for my enemy in the Starlight Casino. I need to understand. I won’t be happy until I know.

_Van Dyke shoves the box of candy away, staring ahead, looking trapped._

VAN DYKE So, Ed, I’ve been trying to acclimate you to our society. The more you learn, the more—

_Straker stands and faces van Dyke._

STRAKER I want the truth, Lydia!

_Van Dyke stands and starts to pace like a caged animal. Straker grabs her, holds her arms tightly._

VAN DYKE ( _Not looking him in the eye_ ) Everyone here…everyone on Earth…is descended from both humans…and aliens…your ‘invaders.’

_Straker listens to her intently._

VAN DYKE The aliens poisoned the atmosphere. We were dying and could no longer survive. They needed a home, they needed bodies, genetic material. A compromise was found. Genetic splicing.

_Straker lets her loose and turns away in dismay, trying to process what she has revealed to him._

STRAKER ( _Astounded_ ) So…you’re all aliens?

VAND DYKE That’s how it worked out. Centuries before I was born. Without that compromise…everyone would be dead. No more life. No more love. No more anything. I know it’s repellent to you. But…this is who I am. Ed…?

_Straker won’t look at her or speak to her. Rejected, she turns to leave the apartment. The door slides closed behind her. His face reveals an expression of disgust, but also regret._

_He stands for a few seconds, an internal struggle evident on his face._

STRAKER ( _To self_ ) What's wrong with you, Straker? What's wrong with you?

_FADE TO BLACK_

_INTERIOR. INSIDE A SPACE VEHICLE HANGER._

_In the darkness, we hear Straker’s voice and Lake’s voice._

STRAKER ( _Whispering_ ) Virginia, what are we doing here?

LAKE ( _Shushing Straker, then whispering_ ) Over here!

_A portable flashlight activated by Lake reveals above them the many-vaned, rounded metallic shape of a parked UFO._

LAKE ( _Whispering_ ) Recognize it?

STRAKER ( _Incredulous_ ) This is the UFO that dragged our moon shuttle through time?

LAKE ( _Motioning to an entrance ramp_ ) Come on!

_INTERIOR. THE TIME-TRAVELING UFO._

_Lake and Straker enter the UFO and find a crescent-shaped control deck. The lighting is yellowish-orange. There are two seats. The controls are alien and metallic, but mechanistic and simple. Not everything has a recognizable function. In fact, much of it looks abstract and art-deco._

STRAKER ( _Dryly_ ) Well, I never thought I’d be standing in one of these.

_Lake directs his attention to the large, many-leveled cylindrical machine behind the pilots’ seats. Coiled tubes extend from the apparatus through the floor. But many access panels are removed and some tubes are dangling._

LAKE ( _Pointing_ ) This is the device that coils time.

STRAKER ( _Examining it_ ) They’re rebuilding it. Modifying it.

LAKE *Improving* it. Upgrading it, for true time travel.

STRAKER They are very curious about their own past. But why would they risk it?

_Lake shrugs._

STRAKER Virginia, what if we return, using this…time ship, and set things right?

LAKE “Right”…how, Ed?

STRAKER To defeat the aliens.

LAKE ( _Considering this_ ) How do we fly it? I’m not a pilot. You haven’t flown in twenty years. The interface is…( _Looking around_ )…completely alien.

_They both hear a noise in the spacecraft hanger, like a spanner being dropped._

LAKE ( _Whispering_ )Let’s get out of here.

_Straker and Lake sneak out of the alien cockpit._

_INTERIOR. THE STARLIGHT CASINO._

_The camera pans down from the peculiarly large fish visible above the plexiglass arch of the Starlight Casino. We see Straker and van Dyke walking, holding hands like teenagers. Straker is smiling and van Dyke is laughing._

_Very chill music is playing in the casino._

VAN DYKE ( _Mellow_ ) Ed, you…bring me a lot of happiness. Do you know that? I don’t think I was ever happy until I met you. Thank you.

_They stop walking and kiss. She leans her head on his shoulder._

STRAKER I owe a lot to you as well. I can’t imagine how difficult things would be without you. The transition to this world has been difficult for me. It still is.

VAN DYKE But, I’m here to help. Let me help.

STRAKER A few hundred years ago, there was a writer who would recommend those three words even above ‘I love you.’

VAN DYKE ( _Impressed_ ) That’s beautiful.

STRAKER Well, that’s actually Star Trek. I stole it because I realized that I’m living it!

_Van Dyke is still resting her head languidly on Straker’s shoulder._

VAN DYKE Ed, if I ask you to stay away from the ancient ships in the lower maintenance hanger, would you do it?

STRAKER What do you mean?

VAN DYKE I mean, you can’t go near those ships again. I had to post guards. It was…personally embarrassing for me.

_Straker is silent, and Van Dyke takes that as rejection, pulling away._

VAN DYKE Goodnight, Ed.

_Van Dyke starts to walk away. Straker catches up with her and grabs her wrist._

STRAKER Listen, I’ve lived my whole life…mired in guile, always trying to outsmart the other guy. I don’t want to push you away. I’m sorry, Lydia, I really am sorry.

_Van Dyke’s eyes are brimming with tears. She kisses Straker again._

_INTERIOR. THE SPACE PORT._

_Van Dyke’s spaceship, the Hydra, is preparing for launch. The giant Fast Scout Ship fills the outgoing hanger deck with the width of its saucer-shaped fuselage. Maintenance crews are wheeling carts of supplies to the ship._

_INTERIOR. A SPACE PORT OBSERVATION DECK._

_Lake and Straker are looking down on the Hydra in its hanger._

STRAKER Lydia is taking me along on the Hydra’s shake-down cruise. I’m actually excited to be in space again. I’m excited at the prospect of seeing the sun again, after living under the ocean all these weeks.

LAKE Well, I don’t see any windows on the Hydra.

STRAKER ( _Disappointed, observing the starship_ ) My god, you’re right.

_Lake peers around cagily._

LAKE ( _Sotto voce_ ) I am hearing through the grapevine that the time-ship UFO is ready to fly.

STRAKER ( _Flatly_ ) For historical research.

LAKE ( _Cheekily_ ) Not if it’s us doing the flying.

STRAKER ( _Sullenly_ ) Ginny, maybe it’s time to let it go.

_Lake’s whole aspect changes; she is enraged._

LAKE “Maybe it’s time to let it go.” Ed Straker is letting it go? What the hell’s the matter with you?

STRAKER Now, listen, you were right. How would we fly it? Operate it?

LAKE ( _Eyeing him intensely_ ) Are you choosing Lydia over your duty?

STRAKER That's ridiculous!

LAKE ( _Emphatically_ ) “I can’t do this alone.” Do you remember those worlds? And I was there for you. I threw away my life in the twenty-first century because you asked me to. And now, you’re abandoning me?

_Straker is looking down at the ground._

LAKE Go to hell, Straker!

STRAKER Ginny…

LAKE I’m General Virginia Lake, in case you’ve forgotten! You know, I wasn’t going to mention it, but Lydia is taking me on the shake-down cruise, not you. There’s only one spot open and she doesn’t trust you!

_Lake marches away. Straker is left alone._

_INTERIOR. THE STARLIGHT CASINO._

_Straker is shuffling along, alone. He is clearly lost in thought. But then he looks up and stops. The blue-skinned alien, who he was so threatened and triggered by before, is sitting alone at a table, apparently lost in his thoughts as well._

_Straker approaches him and stands opposite, catching his eye._

STRAKER ( _Evenly_ ) Can you understand me?

_The alien places a small, rod-like device on the table. He speaks in his own language, and the device translates into English for Straker._

ALIEN ( _Translated_ ) Yes.

STRAKER I…have something to say.

_Straker sits opposite the alien._

STRAKER In this future, as a result of what both our peoples have done, now your people are extinct, your culture is extinct too from what I can see, and my people are on the edge of extinction. I’m not happy with this. I’m guessing you are not happy about this either…

ALIEN ( _Translated_ ) We have a saying, although I don’t know if it will translate. “You reap what you sow.”

STRAKER ( _Nodding_ ) Smart gadget. It translates very well. Do you have a name?

ALIEN Dirvonatril Talvarnistra Karfanandril.

STRAKER ( _Nodding_ ) Ah. Well, my name is…Ed.

ALIEN ( _Smiles slightly_ ) You can call me Dirvonatril.

STRAKER ( _Nodding in agreement_ ) Call me Ed. ( _More serious_ ) Dirvonatril, what if I were to say that I could help us to return to our own time. And not only that, but what if I were willing to work with you to…to “reset” things, perhaps for a better future for both our peoples.

_Dirvonatril’s eyes wander. He is measuring this offer. His eyes return to Straker and regard Straker deeply. Straker returns his gaze unwaveringly._

_FADE TO:_

_EXTERIOR. SPACE._

_The Hydra, on its shake-down voyage, is moving through space, while the Earth diminishes behind it._

_INTERIOR. THE BRIDGE OF THE HYDRA._

_The complex and beautiful bridge of a Fast Scout Ship is newly refurbished and brilliantly lit. General Lydia van Dyke, back in her military uniform, is standing behind the large holographic Astrolobe display, with Virginia Lake standing by her side. Several other bridge crew are at their stations._

VAN DYKE( _Loudly, to bridge crew_ ) We won’t be testing the Overlight Drive today. Just taking a spin around the moon, and perhaps testing the Light Weapons Array, if the opportunity to blast some space junk presents itself.

_The Astrolobe display shifts and centers on the moon, which begins to grow in size._

VAN DYKE ( _To Lake_ ) After the first three months of patrol aboard the Hydra, I can take 3 months of vacation I’ve saved up. I’m thinking of taking Ed with me to a planet called Folanis. There is no technological civilization there. Just a human colony of free thinkers living in nature.

LAKE We call them hippies.

VAN DYKE I’ve never met a man as passionate or as intense as Ed Straker. I want him to relax, to enjoy what our time has to offer him.

LAKE ( _Sardonically_ ) I’ve known him for about twenty-five years. He doesn’t relax.

VAN DYKE But…his war is over.

LAKE ( _Cynically_ ) Don’t bet on it.

_INTERIOR. A CORRIDOR OUTSIDE THE SPACECRAFT HANGER._

_The alien Dirvonatril and Straker are skulking along as a pair, looking completely suspicious._

ALIEN ( _Translated_ ) But how will we gain access to my ship?

_Straker shows the alien an access badge._

STRAKER Let’s just say my girlfriend shouldn’t have assigned a security guard with a high clearance to look after me.

_The alien’s brow furrows._

STRAKER Because…now I have that clearance. Maybe the translator doesn’t do irony.

ALIEN ( _Worried_ ) Ed, I’m having doubts.

STRAKER About what?

ALIEN I’m a pilot and an engineer. I wasn’t trained for espionage.

STRAKER You’re a pilot. That’s a UFO. End of discussion.

ALIEN But if I uncoil the temporal sequence that brought us here, we will be returned to exactly the point where we left.

STRAKER So what’s the problem?

ALIEN The problem is we will in essence collide with our former selves. There won’t be much time to change history. Except to destroy the very thing which will allow us to return.

STRAKER But they've upgraded the time coil. Can’t we return to some other time?

ALIEN ( _Shaking his head_ ) I don't know anything about the upgraded systems. The ship is designed to coil and uncoil time. I only know how to return us to the point of origin.

STRAKER Well…how long would we have to effect a change after we return?

ALIEN ( _Weakly_ ) Less than a second.

STRAKER Then, Dirvonatril, we’ll just have to make that second count.

_Straker extends his hand and offers it in sincerity to the alien, who, slightly reluctantly, takes it._

_INTERIOR. THE BRIDGE OF THE HYDRA._

_Van Dyke and Lake are still watching the moon on the Astrolobe._

COMMUNICATION OFFICER ( _To Van Dyke_ ) General, Base 104 reports…reports that the time travel vessel is missing from its hanger.

VAN DYKE ( _Outraged_ ) How?

COMMUNICATION OFFICER The ground crew and security team have been discovered unconscious.

VAN DYKE ( _To Comm Officer_ ) Scan for the saucer!

COMMUNICATION OFFICER Located, General. It’s actually heading this way, SOL point zero one.

_The UFO appears centered on the Astrolobe, growing in size._

VAN DYKE ( _To Comm Officer_ ) Open a channel to that disc. Hurry!

_The communication officer nods to Van Dyke._

VAN DYKE Ed, I’m going to have to blow you out of the sky. Is that what you want? I thought we had a future together.

_Empty static fills the air. They wait for some reply._

STRAKER ( _Over Comms, coldly_ ) Sorry, Lydia.

_Van Dyke appears stunned she was dismissed so casually._

VAN DYKE ( _Enraged, shouting to weapons officer_ ) Destroy that ship!

_EXTERIOR. SPACE._

_The time ship UFO zips along as weapons blasts from the Hydra impact in a growing sphere of plasma. Then the UFO is gone._

_INTERIOR. THE BRIDGE OF THE HYDRA._

_We see General Lake’s worried face, watching the Astrolobe, wondering what will happen to Straker, as well as to herself._

LAKE ( _Concerned, to self_ ) Straker!

_CUT TO:_

_INTERIOR. THE MOON SHUTTLE PASSENGER CABIN._

_Time has looped._

_General Lake unbuckles the pilot and pushes him away, then buckles herself in. Pressing various controls, she stabilizes the spinning shuttle. The UFO is visible through the cracked clear screen. Lake is smudged and bleeding, having a difficult time accepting that this is the end. She glances at the unconscious Straker._

LAKE You bastard. Now you owe me one.

_She turns back to the glass window in time to see another UFO appear seemingly out of nowhere and collide with the stationary UFO. The two disc destroy each other in a fiery explosion of debris. Lake sits, stunned, trying to understand what just happened. The controls and displays in the cockpit are coming back online._

LAKE ( _Using comms panel_ ) This is General Lake to Moonbase Two, report.

COMMANDER CHOI ( _Staticky, over comms_ ) The UFOs…have all vanished. We’re in recovery mode here.

_Lake notices something odd._

_INSERT: A prominent display reads in flashing letters…_

_MESSAGE RECEIVED_

LAKE ( _To Choi_ ) Commander, I’ll have to get back to you. ( _To computer_ ) Computer, silence the radio and play the received message.

_INSERT: On the display, Straker and the alien sit side by side in the cockpit of the UFO._

STRAKER ( _On recording_ ) General Lake, hopefully you will receive this recorded message and will share it with the command staff at SHADO, as well as with our friends the aliens. My friend here ( _indicating the alien_ ), Dirvonatril, and I have been to the future.

DIRVONATRIL ( _On recording, translated_ ) The result of this…war of attrition between ourselves and the humans…is death for both sides. This can’t be allowed to happen. As my friend, Straker, has said, we have seen this with our own eyes.

STRAKER ( _On recording_ ) Earth needs to begin to accept refugees from the alien world so that we can begin to help each other. We don’t have to be enemies. I know this sounds incredible, especially coming from me, but, as they say, only Nixon could go to China.

_INSERT: In flashing letters…_

_MESSAGE END_

_Straker, floating in zero-g, smeared with blood, has regained consciousness and has been listening to the message behind Lake’s pilot seat._

STRAKER ( _Weakly_ ) I must be dreaming. Or hallucinating.

LAKE If so…then we all are.

_General Lake glances back at him, then returns her attention to the flight controls._

LAKE Computer, take us to Moonbase Two.

_EXTERIOR. SPACE._

_The red moon shuttle spins head over heals, then thrusts toward the moon, disappearing into a tiny speck._

_END._


End file.
